With all the hubbub surrounding Mitt Romney’s recently confirmed bid for the Presidency and the speculation about whether or not Donald Trump will throw his hat in the ring, the political establishment and the media have overlooked the first man to announce his intention to seek the presidency this election season. Fred Karger, a man with a long history as a political operative in the Republican party, is being ignored not because he is unqualified but because he is essentially unelectable. Karger is the first openly gay Republican presidential candidate, and appears to have embraced the fact that his campaign will not ultimately lead him to the White House. Instead, he is focusing on one issue: marriage equality. Well, that and making sure Mitt Romney doesn’t win.
I have to say that Karger’s doomed candidacy has me doubting America’s political process again – and not only because Karger felt the need to post a PDF of his birth certificate on his website. The United States’ system only has room for two parties, largely due to the structure of American elections, which make it almost impossible for third parties or renegade members of one of the two main parties to gain traction. Because they know they have no hope of actually getting elected, candidates and parties that do not fit the mold tend to focus on a single issue, which perpetuates the cycle by making them even more unelectable. After all, no one is going to vote for the Green-Rainbow Party (yes, this is a real thing) when the top-billed issue on their website is marijuana (this is real too).
Even though Fred Karger does not belong to a political party with a ridiculous name and even though he has paid his dues with the Republican establishment, his openness about his sexuality and refusal to keep quiet about his views on marriage equality have forced him to be a sidebar at best in this election. Karger struggled to get himself included in the first Republican Presidential debate scheduled for May 5th, and has received very little attention from the national news media, despite the media’s rabid consumption of all other information related to the 2012 campaign.
The most disappointing thing about Karger’s doomed campaign is that he could have represented an actual moderate candidate, something that does not seem likely from any of the other potential Republican candidates. Fiscally conservative and socially liberal is a banner that a lot of people can get behind, and if it weren’t for the political establishment’s dismissal of an openly gay candidate I think Karger could have been an interesting voice in the discussion. Instead, as he said in an interview on MSNBC, Karger has decided to devote his candidacy to hurting Romney’s campaign any way he can.
Maturity at it’s finest, ladies and gentleman.
This anti-karger article is retarded. Fred knew he wouldn’t have a chance even if he played pragmatic so there is nothing wrong with him campaigning under the banner of promoting human rights. Romney doesn’t deserve to be president because he is a bigot, and unless he changes thanks to Karger’s influence, the sabotage should be welcomed.